Lady Wildcats waste no time in win over Lady Vikings

CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – Clarksville High softball went on the road Thursday to face Northwest in a District 10-AAA tilt.

The Lady Vikings were unable to cool off the bats of the Lady Wildcats, falling at home 16-1 in five innings.

“I thought we came out early and really hit the ball well,” Rush said. “The second time through the lineup, eight of our nine batters got a hit and the one who didn’t got a walk. That’s good production right there and I thought the girls did a really good job of stringing that together.”

Despite playing their fourth game in as many days, Northwest softball coach Holli Blakeney did not think fatigue played a factor in her team’s loss.

“No,” Blakeney answered. “Overall, I think it was a better loss. We have a lot of good things that we can take away. We were putting the ball in play and overall, we did a whole lot better. I was happy about that.”

Game summary

Junior Abby Chappell got things started for CHS in the top of the first inning with a two-out, two-run double before Skylar Hayes made it 3-0 on an RBI single.

Clarksville exploded for nine runs in the following frame, hitting the ball on the screws more often than not.

Lady Wildcat starting pitcher Emberly Nichols was dominant through three scoreless innings, giving up just one hit and striking out five hitters to pick up the win.

“I thought she threw hard tonight,” Rush said. “I thought she had good control for what she was doing. We walked a couple batters, but she was able to then get the outs when we needed them.”

The Lady Vikings used three pitchers in the first two innings when Kaityn Duprey only went one inning and Gabriella Wolfe failed to record an out.

“Yeah we just tried to mix it up a little bit,” Blakeney said. “It was getting a little too hot.”

Skyler Catlett then entered the circle and completed two innings of work while only allowing one run.

“I thought she did well,” Blakeney said. “She was hitting her spots. They’re a good-hitting team. We just had to do what we could and take what we could get.”

Mahogoni Orange drove in the lone Lady Viking run of the game on a fielder’s choice in the bottom of the fifth inning.

Even though Northwest does not have enough numbers to field a junior varsity team, Blakeney is continuing to see improvement from all of her players despite their lack of experience.

“Teagan Turner has been getting in these games and having some good at bats,” Blakeney said. “Breanna Snyder. Paige (Johnson) defensively has been doing really well. She also got a double to right field. Gabby (Wolfe) as a freshman has really been stepping up, so she gets a lot of pitching time and Kaitlyn (Duprey) is really starting to grow into her shoes. Overall, it’s been a team effort.”

Key performers

Wolfe led the Lady Vikings at the plate, going 1-for-1 with a walk and a run scored.

CHS senior Gracelyn Woolen pitched two innings in relief, giving up one run on one hit while recording two strikeouts.

Hayes finished 3-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored while Chappell and Kaelyn Hampton combined for four hits and five runs driven in for the Lady Wildcats.

Up next

So far this season, the Lady Wildcats have only suffered one defeat which came against Summit by a final score of 3-0 in four innings.

“When we go to these tournaments, there’s a time limit,” Rush said. “It really challenges the kids to come out and hit from the start. I thought Summit, in that game, came out and got their hits early, and it took us awhile to warm up. What’s great about that was we played immediately after that against Lebanon and came out and hit the ball really well. We made that adjustment and recovered from our loss.”

Clarksville (24-1-1) will travel to Drakes Creek Park to play in the Bison Classic Friday, April 16.

“We’re going to face some good teams,” Rush said. “We’re slated to play Oakland, Upperman and Creek Wood in pool play and then see where we can go from there.”

Northwest (2-10) heads to Northeast (2-9) Monday, April 19 at 5:30 p.m. in the two team’s final matchup of the regular season. The Lady Vikings walked away with an 8-1 win in game one.

“Fundamentals,” Blakeney said on what she hopes to see from her group the next time out. “Routine plays, put the ball in play and make things happen. Just the simple stuff.”